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Category: Formula 1
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Oscar Piastri takes second career win as McLaren moves to top of team table
Baku City, 15 Sept. 2024: Oscar Piastri came out on top in a thrilling battle with Charles Leclerc to take his second career win and send McLaren soaring to the top of the Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship standings. Meanwhile, a late-race collision with Carlos Sainz dumped Sergio Pérez out of a podium finish and handed third place to Mercedes’ George Russell in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, a round of the Formula 1 World Championship here on Sunday.
When the start lights went out, pole sitter Leclerc got away well from Piastri but behind them Pérez drew level with Sainz before making his way past the Spaniard on the approach to Turn 2 to take second place. Behind them, Verstappen reacted well to the lights and he also profited in Turn 2, muscling past Mercedes’ George Russell to take fifth place.
Further back, after starting from P16, Norris was on a march and by lap four the McLaren driver was already on the cusp of the points in P11.
At the front, Leclerc was initially unable to break DRS and shake Piastri, but on lap 8 the Ferrari driver turned up the wick and over the following three laps the Ferrari driver carved out a three second gap to the Australian and to Pérez who was comfortably staying in touch with the battle for the lead.
On lap 11, Williams’ Franco Colapinto was the first of the top 10 to make a pit stop, followed by Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and on lap 13 Verstappen headed into the pits to shed Medium tyres that he said were offering no grip.
Pérez followed his team-mate to the pit lane at the end of the following lap and with Piastri still on track, the Red Bull driver pushed to make the undercut work. The Red Bull driver had emerged behind long -running Hard tyres starter Norris, however, and McLaren were swiftly on the radio to tell their driver to hold the Mexican up through the Old Town.
Pérez had to wait until he had DRS before he could power past Norris and the short delay was enough to allow Piastri to pit and rejoin just ahead of the Red Bull. Further up the track, Leclerc made his own stop for Hards, holding the lead as he returned to the circuit.
Piastri, more comfortable on the Hard tyres, closed in and at the start of lap 20, the Australian used DRS on the pit straight to power past the Ferrari into Turn 1 and steal the lead.
Behind the leaders, Verstappen also looked to be gaining ground on the Hard tyres, and he soon closed up to Sainz, The pair quickly came up on the slower Norris and Albon and though Sainz soon made his way past the McLaren, Verstappen found himself stuck behind a stubbornly defensive title rival. The Dutchman then began to wear his rears, saying his car was “bouncing around and losing contact”, and he was soon ambushed by Russell.
At the front, Leclerc was pushing to find a way past Piastri and on lap 33 he mounted his most serious attack since surrendering the lead. The Ferrari driver closed up under DRS on the pit straight forcing Piastri to defend the inside line. The McLaren driver held the lead but the battle allowed Pérez to close in and join the battle as the race edged towards two-thirds distance.
Norris finally made his sole stop on lap 38 and he rejoined 15 seconds behind Verstappen. The McLaren driver, with fresh Medium tyres on board, quickly began to post fastest race laps and he eventually powered past the struggling Dutchman with a handful of laps left.
At the front the final third of the race developed into a cat and mouse battle, with Leclerc probing and pushing to provoke a mistake from Piastri and with Pérez seeking to profit from any battle.
And when Leclerc suddenly began to slip and slide on worn tyres in the closing stages, Pérez tried to pounce. However, after almost getting past the Ferrari in Turn 1, he was forced to back out and Sainz drew alongside. The Ferrari appeared to get too close and as they powered towards Turn 2 there was contact. both spun into the wall.
The race was closed out under a Virtual Safety Car. Piastri stretched out to take his second career win ahead of Leclerc, while Russell inherited third place ahead of Norris and with Max in sixth place. Fernando Alonso took sixth for Aston Martin ahead of the Williams pair of Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton finished ninth and the final point went to Haas’ Oliver Bearman.
2024 FIA Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Race
1 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 51 1:32’58.007
2 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 51 1:33’08.917 10.910
3 George Russell Mercedes 51 1:33’29.335 31.328
4 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 51 1:33’34.150 36.143
5 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 51 1:34’15.105 1’17.098
6 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 51 1:34’23.475 1’25.468
7 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 51 1:34’25.403 1’27.396
8 Franco Colapinto Williams/Mercedes 51 1:34’27.548 1’29.541
9 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 51 1:34’30.408 1’32.401
10 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 51 1:34’31.134 1’33.127
11 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 51 1:34’31.472 1’33.465
12 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 51 1:34’55.196 1’57.189
13 Daniel Ricciardo RB/Honda RBPT 51 1:35’24.914 2’26.907
14 Zhou Guanyu Sauber/Ferrari 51 1:35’26.848 2’28.841
15 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 50 1:33’19.351 1 lap /21.344
16 Valtteri Bottas Sauber/Ferrari 50 1:33’23.402 1 lap /25.395
17 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 49 1:28’41.198 Accident
18 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 49 1:28’41.768 Accident
19 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 45 1:23’21.080 Brakes
Yuki Tsunoda RB/Honda RBPT 14 27’02.651 Accident damage -
Charles Leclerc takes Baku pole ahead of Piastri: F1
Baku City, 14 Sept. 2024: Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc powered to a fourth consecutive pole position at the Baku City Circuit, three tenths of a second clear of Oscar Piastri, with Carlos Sainz taking third in qualifying for the 2024 FIA Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in the second Ferrari. However, Red Bull’s championship leader Max Verstappen only managed P6 and title Lando Norris exited in Q1 in an eventful session.
“It’s one of my favourite tracks of the season. I really like it,” said Leclerc after taking his 26th career pole. “In qualifying, until Q3, it was all about trying to stay as far as possible off the walls. And then in that last lap, I went for it a bit more. And the lap time came very nicely. I mean, the car felt really good and everything felt great. So, yeah, it’s amazing to be on pole.”
At the start of Q1 it was Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez who set the early pace, with the Mexican taking top spot with a lap of 1:43.436, just over two tenths clear of Verstappen. Leclerc then split the Red Bulls. with Piastri slotting into fourth place ahead of McLaren team-mate Norris.
Pérez went straight into a second run and an improved time of 1:43.436 returned him to the top of the order ahead of Sainz whose own second run netted him a time of 1:42.517. And with a third flyer on the same set of tyres, Pérez then lowered the benchmark to 1:43.213.
However, with five minutes left Leclerc moved well clear, posting a 1:42.775 to eclipse the Red Bull driver by more than four tenths of a second before Russell also demoted the Mexican. Pérez opted to sit out the final runs and though he slipped to P10 he eased through to Q2.
At the top of the Q1 order Leclerc’s mid-session 1:42.775 allowed him to keep hold of P1 ahead of Albon and Piastri, but in a shock end to the session, there was no place in the second session for the Australian’s McLaren team-mate Lando Norris. The Beiton’s final flyer appeared to be hampered by yellow flags and he slid out of the session in P17.
Verstappen and Pérez were again out on track early at the start of the second session and this time it was the Dutch driver who set the pace with a lap of 1:42.042 that put him 0.221s ahead of his team-mate. Piastri slotted into third place, with Russell fourth. Leclerc then managed to split the Bulls, 0.014s off Max, while Sainz slotted into fourth 0.2s behind Pérez.
And the top three held firm through the final runs. Pérez again opted out of the final laps and when Leclerc backed out of his attempt, Verstappen also chose to ease off at the end of his final flyer and he went through to Q3 in top spot thanks to his first run time ahead of the Ferrari.
At the other end of the order, Haas’ Oliver Bearman dropped out in P11 ahead of RB’s Yuki Tsunoda, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, the second Haas of Nico Hülkenberg, Aston Martin’s Lace Stroll and the second RB of Daniel Ricciardo.
In the first runs of the top 10 shootout, Leclerc put Ferrari on provisional pole, with the Monegasque driver posting a lap of 1:41.610 to take top spot, two tenths of a second ahead of Sainz, with Piastri third ahead of Russell. Pérez slotted into P5 thanks to an opening lap of 1:42.045 with Verstappen two tenths further back in sixth.
At the start of the final runs, there was a strange incident when Williams’ Alex Albon left the Williams garage with the airbox fan still in place. The Thai driver was forced to pull over at the pit exit where he manually dragged the fan out and threw it overboard. The delay would lead to an investigation for unsafe release and prevented him from crossing the line to start a final flyer.
Ahead of him, there was no stopping Leclerc. The Ferrari driver proved unbeatable in the final flyers, claiming a fourth straight Baku pole with a lap of 1:41.365, three tenths ahead of Piastri and almost half a second ahead of third-place Sainz.
Pérez, back on form on a circuit at which he has won twice in the past, put in a strong final flyer to claim fourth spot on the grid ahead of Russell, but Verstappen, could only manage sixth on the grid, alongside Hamilton and ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, the impressive Franco Colapinto of Williams and the unfortunate Albon.
2024 FIA Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:41.365 – –
2 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:41.686 0.321 0.317
3 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:41.805 0.440 0.434
4 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:41.813 0.448 0.442
5 George Russell Mercedes 1:41.874 0.509 0.502
6 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:42.023 0.658 0.649
7 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:42.289 0.924 0.912
8 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:42.369 1.004 0.990
9 Franco Colapinto Williams/Mercedes 1:42.530 1.165 1.149
10 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:42.859 1.494 1.474
11 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1:42.968 1.603 1.581
12 Yuki Tsunoda RB/Honda RBPT 1:43.035 1.670 1.648
13 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1:43.179 1.814 1.790
14 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 1:43.191 1.826 1.801
15 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:43.404 2.039 2.012
16 Daniel Ricciardo RB/Honda RBPT 1:43.547 2.182 2.153
17 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:43.609 2.244 2.214
18 Valtteri Bottas Sauber/Ferrari 1:43.618 2.253 2.223
19 Zhou Guanyu Sauber/Ferrari 1:44.246 2.881 2.842
20 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1:44.504 3.139 3.097 -
Lando Norris takes pole ahead of Oscar Piastri as McLaren lock out front row
Monza, 31 August 2024: Lando Norris took this fourth pole position of the season and his second in a row as P2 for Oscar Piastri locked out the front row of the grid for McLaren for the 2024 FIA Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix. Geroge Russell qualified third for Mercedes as championship leader Max Verstappen ended up in seventh place.
At the start of Q1, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc set the early pace with a lap of 1:20.074. Verstappen then crossed the line in 1:20.226 to take P2. He was soon demoted to third, however, when Norris jumped to the top of the order with a lap of 1:19.911.
Further back Sergio Pérez, in the second Red Bull, looked in trouble ahead of the final flyers. In 19th place and 1.2 seconds off Norris, the Mexican required a strong final flyer and he delivered with a time of 1:20.598 that was good enough to hand P9 at the end of the opening session.
At the top of the order Norris claimed P1 ahead of Leclerc and Piastri, with Ferraris Carlos Sainz fourth place ahead of Russell and Verstappen.
Ruled out at the end of the session were RB’s Yuki Tsunoda in P16, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, Williams’ rookie Franco Colapinto and the Saubers of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu.
At the start of Q2, Leclerc again set the early pace, with the Ferrari driver lapping in 1:20.296 to take top spot 0.032s ahead of team-mate Sainz as both went out on used Softs. Verstappen, meanwhile, had new Softs onboard and he jumped ahead of both Ferraris to take P1 with a time of 1:19.874. The championship leader couldn’t hold on to P1, however, and Norris soon jumped to top spot with a lap of 1:19.727, 0.081 ahead of Piastri who was just under seven hundredths of a second ahead of Verstappen. Hamilton then moved ahead of all three thanks to a lap of 1:19.641.
In the final runs of Q2, Versatappen improved to 1:19.662 to climb to second place behind pacesetter Hamilton, who backed out of what appeared to be an exploratory final run. Norris and Sainz, who elected not to run in the final moments, took third and fourth respectively ahead of the second McLaren of Piastri.
There was, however, no place in the top-10 shootout for Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso who exited in P11 ahead of RB’s Daniel Ricciardo, Haas’ Kevin Magnussen and the Alpine cars of Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon.
In the opening runs of Q3, Norris led Piastri, with the Briton claiming provisional pole with a time of 1:19.401, just 0.035s ahead of the Australian. They were followed by Russell and Hamilton, with the Ferraris of Sainz and Leclerc in fifth and sixth ahead of Pérez and Verstappen who complained of a lack of grip from his new set of Soft tyres.
In the second and final runs, the Red Bulls again struggled. Pérez, leading the way on track, ran wide at the second Lesmo and kicked up a plume of dust, which then upset Verstappen who had already gone slightly wide at Lesmo 1. It meant that although he improved his personal best, Verstappen only rose above his team-mate and the title leader will start seventh.
Behind, Norris only went quicker in sector two compared to his previous personal best, but he still improved the first place benchmark to set pole at 1m19.327, a tenth ahead of Piastri with just 0.004s behind the Australian. Leclerc qualified in fourth place ahead of team-mate Sainz, while Lewis Hamilton took fifth at the flag ahead of Verstappen and Pérez. Alex Albon was ninth for Williams and the top 10 order was rounded out by Haas’ Hülkenberg.
2024 FIA Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1’19.327 – –
2 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1’19.436 0.109 0.137
3 George Russell Mercedes 1’19.440 0.113 0.142
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1’19.461 0.134 0.169
5 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1’19.467 0.140 0.176
6 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1’19.513 0.186 0.234
7 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1’20.022 0.695 0.876
8 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1’20.062 0.735 0.927
9 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1’20.299 0.972 1.225
10 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 1’20.339 1.012 1.276
11 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1’20.421 1.094 1.379
12 Daniel Ricciardo RB/Honda RBPT 1’20.479 1.152 1.452
13 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1’20.698 1.371 1.728
14 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1’20.738 1.411 1.779
15 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1’20.766 1.439 1.814
16 Yuki Tsunoda RB/Honda RBPT 1’20.945 1.618 2.040
17 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1’21.013 1.686 2.125
18 Franco Colapinto Williams/Mercedes 1’21.061 1.734 2.186
19 Valtteri Bottas Sauber/Ferrari 1’21.101 1.774 2.236
20 Zhou Guanyu Sauber/Ferrari 1’21.445 2.118 2.670 -
Lando Norris wins Dutch Grand Prix ahead of Verstappen and Leclerc
Zandvoort (The Netherlands) 25 August 2024: Lando Norris ended Max Verstappen’s home dominance with a crushing Dutch Grand Prix victory that saw the McLaren driver beat the Red Bull Racing by almost 23 seconds, as Charles Leclerc claimed a seventh podium finish of the season with third place.
For a brief period after the start Norris’ second win of the season looked in doubt. Verstappen reacted quickest to the lights going out and on the short run to Turn 1 he passed the Briton to steal an early lead and a potential fourth successive win at his home grand prix.
However, Verstappen was unable to carve out a lead and on lap 18 Norris closed in under DRS on the pit straight to reclaim the lead. And with clean air ahead the McLaren driver stretched his legs to eventually take the chequered flag with 22.8 seconds in hand over his title rival.
“It feels amazing, yeah, once again,” said Norris afterwards. “I wouldn’t say a perfect race, because of lap one again, but afterwards it was beautiful. The pace was very strong. The car was unbelievable today, so I could get comfortable, I could push and get past Max, which was the main thing, and just go from there.”
Behind the top two at the start, Mercedes’ George Russell beat McLaren’s Oscar Piastri to the punch to steal third place, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc also gained a place, blasting around the outside of Sergio Pérez in the second Red Bull to take fifth place.
At the front Verstappen succeeded in breaking the DRS gap to Norris and over the first handful of laps eked out an 1.2s advantage over the McLaren man.
However, after dropping back from the dirty air behind Verstapen, Norris began to close in, and on lap 15 the McLaren driver was suddenly back in DRS range. Verstappen, meanwhile, was reporting that his tyres were “numb, they don’t grip” and that handed Norris the opportunity he required and on lap 18, with the aid of DRS, he powered past the Red Bull driver to reclaim the lead and with pace in abundance he quickly built up an almost six-second gap to the Dutchman.
Behind the leading pair, Russell was now over six seconds adrift in third, with fourth-placed Piastri coming under increasing pressure from Leclerc and with Pérez still locked in sixth place.
With Verstappen steadily losing ground, Red Bull pulled the trigger on his sole pit stop at the end of lap 27. With new Hard tyres on board he rejoined in fifth place, behind Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz. McLaren reacted immediately and Norris headed into the pit lane at the end of the following lap. And after his switch to the C1 compound he emerged in P4, five seconds ahead of the Red Bull driver.
Piastri was the last of the frontrunners to pit, at the end of lap 33. And after fitting a set of C1 Hard tyres, the Australian rejoined in fifth, just behind Russell. He soon dismissed the Mercedes driver but though he closed in on Leclerc, he couldn’t find a way past the Ferrari man.
Pérez was now coming under pressure from the increasingly pacy Sainz and on lap 45 the Ferrari driver attacked. The Spaniard was twice frustrated by the Mexican’s robust defending, but at the third time of asking Sainz used DRS and a late-braking lunge to get past the Mexican into Tarzan on lap 48.
At the front, Norris was pulling away from Verstappen and with 20 laps left the Red Bull man was 14.5s off the lead. Behind him Leclerc’s battle with Piastri was helping, however, and the Ferrari and McLaren drivers were now over six seconds adrift in third and fourth respectively.
On lap 55, Mercedes pitted Russell for a set of used Soft tyres, with the Mercedes driver charged with using the pace of the C3 tyres to haul his way back past Pérez, who had been boosted to sixth again. The gamble failed to pay off, however, and both two-stopping Mercedes drivers soon found their Soft tyres going off.
At the front, Norris was in cruise control and after 72 largely smooth and comfortable laps the Briton powered past the chequered flag to take the second win of his career. The victory and the point for the fastest lap he set on the final tour, mean that Norris now has 225 points, 70 behind championship leader Verstappen.
Behind the top two, Leclerc kept Piastri at bay to take his seventh podium finish of 2024. Sainz took fifth for Ferrari and Pérez held firm in sixth to Red Bull’s overall points tally to 434, 30 clear of McLaren with Ferrari a further 34 points back in third. Behind Pérez, Russell led home team-mate Hamilton, Pierre Gasly secured ninth for Alpine and the final point went to Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.
2024 FIA Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix – Race
1 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 72 1:30’45.519
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 72 1:31’08.415 22.896
3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 72 1:31’10.958 25.439
4 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 72 1:31’12.856 27.337
5 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 72 1:31’17.656 32.137
6 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 72 1:31’25.061 39.542
7 George Russell Mercedes 72 1:31’30.136 44.617
8 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 72 1:31’35.118 49.599
9 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 71 1:30’54.123 1 lap /8.604
10 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 71 1:30’59.052 1 lap /13.533
11 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 71 1:31’04.733 1 lap /19.214
12 Daniel Ricciardo RB/Honda RBPT 71 1:31’06.586 1 lap /21.067
13 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 71 1:31’11.231 1 lap /25.712
14 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 71 1:31’26.230 1 lap /40.711
15 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 71 1:31’32.397 1 lap /46.878
16 Logan Sargeant Williams/Mercedes 71 1:31’50.058 1 lap /1’04.539
17 Yuki Tsunoda RB/Honda RBPT 71 1:31’50.665 1 lap /1’05.146
18 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 71 1:31’51.226 1 lap /1’05.707
19 Valtteri Bottas Sauber/Ferrari 70 1:30’48.767 2 laps /3.248
20 Zhou Guanyu Sauber/Ferrari 70 1:31’21.538 2 laps /36.019 -
Norris takes pole ahead of Verstappen for Dutch GP
Zandvoort (the Netherlands), 24 August 2024: Lando Norris delivered a blistering final flying lap in qualifying at Zandvoort to deny home hero Max Verstappen a fourth straight Dutch Grand pole position. Oscar Piastri finished third in the closely contested session and will start ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell on the second row of the grid.
At the start of Q1 it was Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll who was quickly into the groove, with the Canadian taking top spot ahead of Williams’ Alex Albon and Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton then eclipsed all three as Norris appeared for the first time in P2 ahead of Verstappen.
In the closing stages Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz jumped to P1 and was then displaced by Mercedes’ George Russell. Further back, Pérez was on track and seeking a significant improvement in order jump up from P16 and out of the drop zone. The Mexican made the most of the improving track and in the final moments he vaulted to top spot with a lap of 1:11.006, 0.043s ahead of Russell and more than three tenths clear of Sainz.
Ruled out at the end of Q1 were RB’s Daniel Ricciardo in P16, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, the Kick Sauber cars of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu, and Sargeant who failed to make it out on track in Q1 following a heavy crash in FP3.
Sainz and Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc were first out on track at the start of Q2 and it was Leclerc who set the early pace on 1:11.665, just under two tenths of his team-mate. Piastri moved to the top of the order with his first flyer of 1:10.505 a second clear of Leclerc but the Australian was edged out of top spot by Norris who posted a time of 1:10.496. And when Russell slotted into third place, Verstappen’s first flyer of 1:10.811 left him in fourth place.
Comfortable with their opening runs, the top four drivers chose to sit out the final flyers and it was only Verstappen’s confidence that was dented, with the Dutchman demoted to P8 as Stroll claimed P4 ahead of Pérez, Leclerc and Williams’ Alex Albon.
The big fallers at this stage were Sainz and Hamilton who exited in the session in 11th and 12h respectively, ahead of fellow fallers Yuki Tsunoda of RB and the Haas pairing of Hülkenberg and Magnussen.
At the start of Q3, it was Norris who seized provisional pole, with the McLaren driver setting a benchmark of 1:10.074, 0.119s clear of Piastri. Verstappen, who hit the kerbs hard enough in Turns 11 and 12 to ask for his floor to be checked on his return to the garage, took third place 0.148s off Norris’ P1 time.
Verstappen then sent the Dutch fans wild with a final flyer that sent him to top of the order, but Norris had pace in hand and after a session-best sector 1 time the McLaren driver delivered improvements in the final sectors to claim pole a significant three tenths ahead of Verstappen.
2024 FIA Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:09.673 – –
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:10.029 0.356 0.511
3 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:10.172 0.499 0.716
4 George Russell Mercedes 1:10.244 0.571 0.820
5 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:10.416 0.743 1.066
6 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:10.582 0.909 1.305
7 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:10.633 0.960 1.378
8 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:10.653 0.980 1.407
9 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:10.857 1.184 1.699
10 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1:10.977 1.304 1.872
11 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:10.914 1.241 1.781
12 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:10.948 1.275 1.830
13 Yuki Tsunoda RB/Honda RBPT 1:10.955 1.282 1.840
14 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 1:11.215 1.542 2.213
15 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1:11.295 1.622 2.328
16 Daniel Ricciardo RB/Honda RBPT 1:11.943 2.270 3.258
17 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1:11.995 2.322 3.333
18 Valtteri Bottas Sauber/Ferrari 1:12.168 2.495 3.581
19 Zhou Guanyu Sauber/Ferrari 1:13.261 3.588 5.150
20 Logan Sargeant Williams/Mercedes – – – -
Hamilton takes victory after Russell was disqualified: F1
Spa, 28 July 2024: George Russell has been disqualified from the Belgian Grand Prix after his Mercedes W15 was below the 798kg minimum weight, handing victory to team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
Russell took a sensational win at Spa with a well-worked one-stop strategy, but following the race the FIA Technical Delegate reported that while Russell’s car was initially weighted it met the minimum weight of 798.0 kg. However, when “fuel was drained out of the car and 2.8 litres of fuel were removed” to get the required sample, the car was weighed again and “the weight was 796.5 kg… 1.5 kg below the minimum weight requested in TR Article 4.1”.
The matter was referred to the Race Stewards and after hearing from a Mercedes team representative that there were no mitigating circumstances and that it was a genuine error by the team, the Stewards determined that Article 4.1 of the FIA Formula 1 Technical Regulations had been breached and Russell was disqualified from the race result.
The ruling means that Lewis Hamilton inherits his 105th win in Formula 1, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri moving up to second place. Charles Leclerc claims a 36th career podium finish with P3. With the rest of the field also moving up a place, RB’s Daniel Ricciardo claims his third points finish of the season with 10th place.
Surprise by Russell
Earlier, George Russell springs a strategic surprise at Spa, making a one-stop strategy work to snatch a third career grand prix victory from under the nose of long time race leader Lewis Hamilton who finished a little over half a second ahead behind his Mercedes team-mate and 0.6s clear of third-placed McLaren driver Oscar Piastri.
At the start of the race, Ferrari polesitter Charles Leclerc got away well to take the lead. Behind him fellow front-row starter Sergio Pérez was slower off the line and into La Source he was passed by Hamilton. Behind them McLaren’s Lando Norris took a wide line and on the exit of Turn 1 dipped a wheel onto the gravel. That allowed Piastri, Russell and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz to power past as the quartet went into Eau Rouge.
Further back, from P11 on the grid, Max Verstappen got away well and on lap one the Dutchman kicked off what was expected to be a rapid charge through the field by passing Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Williams’ Alex Albon and then on lap 2 he picked off Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso to close in on Norris who was now seventh.
On the next lap, with DRS in play, Hamilton closed up to Leclerc through Eau Rouge and on the long Kemmel straight the Mercedes driver powered past the Ferrari to take the lead. Behind them Pérez held on to third under pressure from Piastri with Russell in fifth ahead of Sainz.
Behind them, Verstappen was bottled up behind Norris and Red Bull opted to pit the Dutchman on lap 10 hoping for an undercut. That sparked a flood of stops among the frontrunners and after the pit visits had played out, Hard tyre starter Sainz rose to P1 ahead of Hamilton and Leclerc. Pérez, though, emerged from his stop behind the slower Aston Martin of Lance Stroll and that allowed Piastri to close in. Stroll exited the picture when Aston called him to the pits, but Piastri was now right behind Pérez and on the run to Les Combes, aided by DRS, the Australian flew past to take P4.
Norris was the last of the frontrunners to pit, five laps after Max, and when the McLaren driver rejoined on Hard tyres, Verstappen was well ahead and beginning to close on Russell and Pérez who was now fifth.
The Mexican was struggling for pace on the straights, however, and he was soon passed by Russell. That put the Pérez directly in the path of Verstappen and with the Dutch driver bottled up, Norris on fresher tyres began to close on both. That prompted Red Bull to put Pérez early and the Mexican faced a long, hard slog on Hard tyres to the end of the race.
Leclerc sparked the final round of stop at the end of lap 25 and when the tyre changes had played out, Russell, who had eschewed new rubber and had suddenly decided that a one-stop was viable, led the race ahead of Hamilton and Leclerc, with Piastri in fourth. Verstappen was now in P5, under a second clear of Norris and behind them Pérez lay seventh.
On lap 36 Piastri, after one failed attempt at passing Leclerc, closed up to the Ferrari on the exit of La Source. Leclerc defended hard as the pair entered the braking zone for Les Combes but Piastri hung on around the outside and then firmly shut the door on Leclerc as they exited the chicane to take third place, 5.6s behind Hamilton.
On lap 39, Pérez came under pressure from Sainz and though the Mexican defended as best he could on ageing tyres, Sainz muscled his way past on the Kemmel straight to demote the Red Bull driver to P8.
Over the final five laps, all of the frontrunners closed in on Russell but remarkably the Mercedes driver was able to keep his fading Hard tyres alive to keep Hamilton and Piastri at bay and at the end of the 44 laps Russell took his third career win just half a second ahead of Hamilton with Piastri a tenth further back in third.
Leclerc clung on behind them, just six tenths ahead of Verstappen who took fifth place, another half second ahead of Norris. Sainz finished in seventh and Pérez ended the race in eighth. However, with more than half a minute in hand over Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, the Mexican made a late stop for Soft tyres and banked an extra point with a fastest lap of 1:44.701 in the final laps. Tenth place went to Ocon who edged RB’s Daniel Ricciardo out of the points-paying positions in the closing stages.
2024 FIA Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix – Race
1 George Russell Mercedes 44 1:19’57.040
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 44 1:19’57.566 0.526
3 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 44 1:19’58.213 1.173
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 44 1:20’05.589 8.549
5 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 44 1:20’06.266 9.226
6 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 44 1:20’06.890 9.850
7 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 44 1:20’16.835 19.795
8 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 44 1:20’40.235 43.195
9 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 44 1:20’47.003 49.963
10 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 44 1:20’49.592 52.552
11 Daniel Ricciardo RB/Honda RBPT 44 1:20’51.966 54.926
12 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 44 1:21’00.051 1’03.011
13 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 44 1:21’00.691 1’03.651
14 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 44 1:21’01.405 1’04.365
15 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 44 1:21’03.671 1’06.631
16 Valtteri Bottas Sauber/Ferrari 44 1:21’07.678 1’10.638
17 Yuki Tsunoda RB/Honda RBPT 44 1:21’13.777 1’16.737
18 Logan Sargeant Williams/Mercedes 44 1:21’23.097 1’26.057
19 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 44 1:21’25.873 1’28.833
Zhou Guanyu Sauber/Ferrari 5 11’00.351 Hydraulics -
Max Verstappen takes pole in wet conditions at Spa: F1
27 July 2024: Max Verstappen dominated a wet qualifying session at Spa-Francorchamps beating Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by almost six tenths of a second, with under pressure Sergio Pérez putting in a good performance to take third. However, with Verstappen set for a 10-place grid penalty for the race, Leclerc grabs pole for tomorrow’s Belgian Grand Prix.
“It was a nice qualifying. It was raining a little bit but we could do a decent qualifying,” said Verstappen, who will start the race from P11 after taking a fifth ICE of the season this weekend. “I know that I have to start 10 places back so this was the best I could do today. We’ll go from there. I don’t know how quick we are going to be but I hope that we can be in the mix to try to move forward.”
The opening session of qualifying began on a damp track, on Intermediate tyres but with no rain falling and Verstappen was quickly to the fore. The Red Bull driver posted a lap of 1:56.003 on his opening lap to take top spot from McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, with Pérez in third.
With a little less than seven minutes remaining, Piastri jumped back to top spot with a lap of 1:55.549, 0.454 ahead of Verstappen who was starting another flyer. And when the Dutchman crossed the line, he returned to the top of the leaderboard with a time of 1:54.938, six tenths ahead of Piastri.
In the final minutes, Piastri once again stole top spot with a lap of 1:54.835. Verstappen went for a last attempt but the Dutchman came across a slow Guanyu Zhou on his flyer and as Alpine’s Pierre Gasly took P2, Verstappen eased through in third place having used just one set of Inters during the session, with Pérez in fourth.
At the other end of the table, Haas’ Nico Hülkenberg and Kevin Magnussen were ruled out in 16th and 17threspectively, with RB’s Yuki Tsunoda exiting in P18 ahead of Williams’ Logan Sargeant and the Sauber of Zhou.
Alex Albon kicked things off in 1:54.724, but he was swiftly demoted by Lando Norris who went almost three tenths of a second quicker than the Williams driver. Verstappen, though, was going even quicker and he jumped to top spot with a lap of 1:53.857, six tenths ahead of Norris and eight clear of Albon.
Verstappen then shaved two hundredths of a second off his first flyer to cement himself into P1 but further back, Pérez, was flirting with trouble.
The Mexican bolted on more fresh Inters and jumped to fourth but as the track improved further and better times flooded in elsewhere, he began to slide down the timesheet. And when the order settled after the final shake-up, the Mexican scraped through to Q3 in tenth place, just 0.003s ahead of Williams’ Alex Albon who was eliminated ahead of Gasly, RB’s Daniel Ricciardo, Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas and Stroll.
At the start of the top-10 shootout, the Red Bull pair were last out on track and on new Inters Verstappen powered to the top of the order with a lap of 1:53.159, six tenths of a second ahead of Pérez who put in a strong lap on used tyres to post a lap of 1:53.765. That put the Mexican over two tenths clear of Hamilton who was on fresh tyres.
And with only the Ferrari cars with fresh inters for the final runs, Verstappen’s opening time proved untouchable as claimed top spot in qualifying, meaning that after his penalty for taking a fifth ICE of the season, the champion will start from 11th place on the grid.
Behind him, Leclerc, one of the few to have a fresh set of Inters for his final run, edged ahead of Pérez by 0.011s in the final moments to claim P2 and a front-of-the-grid start for the race. Pérez, third in the session, will line up on the front row for the first time since the Chinese Grand Prix in April.
Behind Checo, Hamilton qualified fourth ahead of Norris, with Piastri in sixth place. Russell took seventh in the second Mercedes ahead of Sainz, while Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso ended the session in ninth place ahead of Ocon.
2024 FIA Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1’53.159
2 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1’53.754 0.595
2 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1’53.765 0.011
4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1’53.835 0.081
5 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1’53.981 0.227
6 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1’54.027 0.273
7 George Russell Mercedes 1’54.184 0.430
8 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1’54.477 0.723
9 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1’54.765 1.011
10 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1’54.810 1.056
11 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1’54.473 0.719
12 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1’54.635 0.881
13 Daniel Ricciardo RB/Honda RBPT 1’54.682 0.928
14 Valtteri Bottas Sauber/Ferrari 1’54.764 1.010
15 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1’55.716 1.962
16 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 1’56.308 2.554
17 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1’56.500 2.746
18 Yuki Tsunoda RB/Honda RBPT 1’56.593 2.839
19 Zhou Guanyu Sauber/Ferrari 1’57.775 4.021
20 Logan Sargeant Williams/Mercedes 1’57.230 3.476 -
Oscar Piastri claims maiden F1 win in a McLaren 1-2 finish ahead of Hamilton:F1
Oscar Piastri claimed his first Formula 1 victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix, with team-mate Lando Norris finishing second to hand McLaren its first 1-2 finish for three years, as Lewis Hamilton took the final podium spot for Mercedes.
Piastri’s win was set up at the start when he overtook Norris in Turn 1, but the Australian’s first victory was thrown into doubt late on when a strategic decision to pit Norris ahead of his team-mate in the final stops handed the British driver an undercut that put him in the lead. A lengthy team orders discussion followed, but eventually Norris ceded first place back to Piastri who led McLaren to its first one-two finish since the 2021 Italian Grand Prix.
At the start of the race, polesitter Norris got away well but on the run to the first corner Piastri and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen drew level with the Briton and they went three abreast into Turn 1. Verstappen went off track and with Norris also battling to stay on track, Piastri snuck through on the inside to take the lead.
Verstappen rejoined in second but with the incident being investigated, he was told to give back the place back to Norris and did so soon after. and soon after the start the championship leader handed the place back into Turn 1.
At the end of a tight first stint, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton was the first of the frontrunners to pit, from fourth place, followed by Norris and Piastri. Verstappen stayed on track, however, waiting until lap 21 to make his first stop and as the first round of tyre changes played out, Piastri returned to P1, three seconds ahead of Norris, but Hamilton had made the undercut work and he was now third ahead of Verstappen.
Verstappen, with fresher tyres, closed up to Hamilton over the following laps and at the start of lap 35 he attacked into Turn 1. The Mercedes driver locked up and went wide, giving Verstappen the chance to pass on the outside into Turn 3, but on his second attempt it was the Dutchman who went off track and Hamilton held on.
With Verstappen continuing to press, Mercedes eventually pitted Hamilton and the Red Bull driver began to eat into the gap to Norris ahead.
Meanwhile, at the front, Piastri suffered a brief off on lap 33 and that allowed Norris to close the gap at the front to just 1.5s. On lap 45, with both Verstappen and Hamilton threatening, McLaren pitted Norris ahead of leader Piastri to cover the charge. And with Piastri staying out for two more laps, Norris’ undercut promoted him to the race lead.
The strategy decision set up an increasingly techy finish for McLaren as Norris questioned the need to cede the position to Piastri and his race engineer talked the Briton into letting Piastri past.
Verstappen pitted at the end of lap 49, but even though the Dutchman’s stop of 2.3s good, he emerged in fifth place behind Hamilton and Leclerc with the task of passing both in the final 20 laps.
Leclerc’s defence was solid, but with Verstappen carrying more pace on fresh tyres, it was also brief. But after dismissing the Ferrari driver at the start of lap 56, Verstappen’s attempts to pass Hamilton proved frustrating and eventually debilitating.
The Dutchman attacked on lap 62 but Hamilton defended well. Max went for it again on the following lap but his lunge down the inside was too late. As Hamilton turned in, Verstappen locked up and there was contact.
The Red Bull driver was pitched into the air and then off track. Hamilton powered off into third and as Verstappen rejoined, Leclerc swept past to demote the Red Bull driver to fifth.
At the front, Norris eventually gave way to Piastri on lap 69 and two laps later the Australian took the flag to score his maiden F1 victory. Norris completed the 1-2 for McLaren and Hamilton took the remaining podium place ahead of Leclerc.
That left fifth place for a frustrated Max, who was also summoned to the stewards to review the Hamilton incident. Sainz took sixth place while another trademark Checo charge brought the team six hugely valuable points at the end of a difficult afternoon. Russell was left with eighth ahead of Tsunoda and the final point went to Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll.
2024 FIA Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix – Race
1 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 70 1:38’01.989
2 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 70 1:38’04.130 2.141
3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 70 1:38’16.869 14.880
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 70 1:38’21.675 19.686
5 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 70 1:38’23.338 21.349
6 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 70 1:38’25.062 23.073
7 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 70 1:38’41.781 39.792
8 George Russell Mercedes 70 1:38’44.357 42.368
9 Yuki Tsunoda RB/Honda RBPT 70 1:39’19.248 1’17.259
10 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 70 1:39’19.965 1’17.976
11 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 70 1:39’24.449 1’22.460
12 Daniel Ricciardo RB/Honda RBPT 69 1:38’19.913 1 lap /17.924
13 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 69 1:38’35.173 1 lap /33.184
14 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 69 1:38’38.758 1 lap /36.769
15 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 69 1:38’47.291 1 lap /45.302
16 Valtteri Bottas Sauber/Ferrari 69 1:38’47.398 1 lap /45.409
17 Logan Sargeant Williams/Mercedes 69 1:38’54.580 1 lap /52.591
18 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 69 1:39’02.918 1 lap /1’00.929
19 Zhou Guanyu Sauber/Ferrari 69 1:39’05.587 1 lap /1’03.598
Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 33 47’39.255 Retirement -
Hamilton takes emotional, record ninth win at Silverstone ahead of Verstappen: F1
Silverstone, 7 July 2024: After two and a half years away, Lewis Hamilton returned to the top step of the podium to win a remarkable ninth British Grand Prix and to set a new record for the most victories at a single event. In tricky, mixed conditions at Silverstone, seven-time champion Hamilton put in a finely judged driver to navigate rain showers, critical tyre choices and to hold off a later charge by Max Verstappen to take his 104th win in Formula 1 and his first since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
“I can’t stop crying,” said a visibly emotional Hamilton afterwards. “I think, it’s been since 2021, just, every day getting up, trying to fight, to train… I’m very grateful to everyone in this team, everyone at Mercedes, and all of our partners. And I just want to say thank you to all of you for being here with us today. And then otherwise to all our incredible fans. I could see you lap by lap as I was coming around, and there’s just no greater feeling than to finish at the front here.”
When the lights went out at the start, polesitter George Russell got away well to take the lead ahead of Hamilton. Verstappen also made a good start and as Norris struggled for grip off the front row, the Dutchman snatched third as they swept through Turns 3 and 4. Behind the top four, Mclaren’s Oscar Piastri held fifth but Nico Hülkenberg dropped from sixth down to ninth as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc jumped up to P8 from 11th on the grid.
With rain on the horizon and with drivers carefully managing the life of their starting tyres in case they needed a long stint ahead of the wet weather, the order at the front froze. By lap 14 Russell was 1.5 seconds clear of Hamilton, while Verstappen, struggling for pace, had allowed the gap to the Mercedes cars to grow to 4.5s. Norris was just under a second behind the Red Bull with Piastri still in fifth ahead of the Ferraris of Carlos Sainz and Leclerc.
On lap 15 Norris closed in and on the run to Stowe he powered past Verstappen to retake third place. The Red Bull driver’s pace was now flagging and on lap 17 Piastri made the same move into Stowe and Verstappen slid to fifth as the rain began to fall across Silverstone.
At the front, Russell was beginning to struggle in the increasingly treacherous conditions and on lap 18 Hamilton roared past his team-mate to take the lead. Russell tried to fight back with the result that at the start of lap 19 both went off at Turn 1. That allowed Norris to slip past Russell and on the following lap the McLaren driver muscled past Hamilton on the pit straight to take the lead.
The McLarens now appeared to have huge amounts of grip in hand and as Norris began to stretch ahead, Piastri powered past both Mercedes to rise to second place.
Further back, Ferrari gambled on heavier rain arriving sooner than expected and they pitted Leclerc for Intermediate tyres. It was replicated by Red Bull, who fancied the idea of heavy rain vaulting 16th-placed Sergio Pérez up the order, but as the rain abated both were severely hindered by the slower Inters, and their chances of major points disappeared.
As second, heavier shower eventually arrived and Verstappen and Sainz seized the moment, pitting for Intermediate tyres ahead of the pack. Norris then pitted from the lead at the end of lap 27, followed by both Mercedes. That briefly propelled Piastri into the lead on Medium tyres, but the Australian pitted on the following lap and when he came out he dropped back to sixth place.
Russell, slowed by being the second car in a stacked Mercedes stop also lost time and after the changes, Norris led ahead of Hamilton with Verstappen in third with Russell now in fourth ahead of Sainz. However, Russell’s race went from annoyance to furious exit soon after. On lap 34 the Mercedes was given the message to box and retire his car due to a water system issue. The Briton’s exit boosted Sainz to fourth, nine seconds behind Verstappen
As the race entered its final third, the conditions began to improve and that sparked a move back to slick tyres.
On lap 38, Hamilton and Verstappen made their moves with the Mercedes driver taking Softs and Max moving to Hard tyres. Norris, though, stayed out, and the delay cost the McLaren driver dearly. Slower on his in-lap and then slow in the pits as he overshot his marks, Norris rejoined just as Hamilton swept through to take the lead once more.
It was Verstappen, though, who appeared to have made the best call. With 11 laps to go the champion was just 2.7s behind Norris but surprisingly lapping much quicker than the Sof-tyre pair ahead of him.
Over the next seven laps, the Red Bull driver stalked Norris and on lap 48 he outdragged Norris down the Hangar Straight before sweeping past the McLaren around the outside through Stowe.
Verstappen began to chase down Hamilton and with three laps to go he was just three seconds off the leader. However, although the Red Bull driver managed to halve the gap, Hamilton held on to take a stunning ninth British Grand Prix win and the new record for most wins at a single circuit.
“It’s so tough, but I think the important thing is just how you continue to get up and you’ve got to continue to dig deep even when you feel like you’re at the bottom of the barrel,” said Hamilton afterwards. “I mean, there’s definitely been days between 2021 and here where I didn’t feel like I was good enough or whether I was going to get back to where I am today. But the important thing is I had great people around me continuing to support me. And my team, every time I turn up and see them putting in the effort that really encouraged me to do the same thing.”
Behind Norris, Piastri took fourth ahead of Sainz and Haas’ Nico Hülkenberg, while Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso took seventh and eighth respectively. Alex Albon took ninth place for Williams and the final point on offer went to RB’s Yuki Tsunoda.
2024 FIA Formula 1 British Grand Prix – Race
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 52 1:22’27.059
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 52 1:22’28.524 1.465
3 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 52 1:22’34.606 7.547
4 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 52 1:22’39.488 12.429
5 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 52 1:23’14.377 47.318
6 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 52 1:23’22.781 55.722
7 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 52 1:23’23.628 56.569
8 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 52 1:23’30.636 1’03.577
9 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 52 1:23’35.446 1’08.387
10 Yuki Tsunoda RB/Honda RBPT 52 1:23’46.362 1’19.303
11 Logan Sargeant Williams/Mercedes 52 1:23’56.019 1’28.960
12 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 52 1:23’57.212 1’30.153
13 Daniel Ricciardo RB/Honda RBPT 51 1:22’36.996 1 lap /9.937
14 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 51 1:23’07.532 1 lap /40.473
15 Valtteri Bottas Sauber/Ferrari 51 1:23’08.880 1 lap /41.821
16 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 50 1:22’37.741 2 laps /10.682
17 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 50 1:22’45.064 2 laps /18.005
18 Zhou Guanyu Sauber/Ferrari 50 1:23’21.535 2 laps /54.476
George Russell Mercedes 33 52’51.677 Retirement
Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 0 – Not started -
George Russell takes pole at home Grand Prix ahead of Hamilton: F1
Silverstone, 6 July 2024: George Russell led an all-British top three in qualifying for the British Grand Prix with the Mercedes driver beating team-mate Lewis Hamilton by just under two tenths of a second as Lando Norris took third for McLaren. Drivers’ Championship leader Max Verstappen will start fourth after his qualifying was compromised by floor damage sustained in an early off.
At the start of Q1, on a damp track and on Intermediate tyres, Verstappen took top spot with a lap of 1:37.518, with Norris a tenth off in P2. They were soon shuffled back by Mercedes George Russell who took top spot with his second flyer, but the track was rapidly drying and Charles Leclerc quickly headed back to the pits for a set of slick Soft tyres.
That prompted Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez to make the same switch but on a still slippery track he suffered a snap of oversteer going into Copse corner and though he managed to save that he lost control in the run-off and slid backwards into the gravel where he exited the session and the red flags came out.
After a nine-minute halt the session resumed with all drivers on Softs. But as McLaren’s Oscar Piastri took P1 with a lap of 1:30.895, Verstappen almost suffered the same fate as his team-mate. A snap in Copse sent the Red Bull driver off track and though he was able to keep going, a thumping trip through the gravel trap caused floor damage that would have a major impact on the rest of his session.
With improvements flooding in elsewhere, the Dutch driver sank down the order and with the clock counting down he had to immediately make another attempt and as Hamilton took top spot ahead of Russell, Leclerc and Sainz, the world champion limped through in a relatively lowly P11 thanks to a lap of 1:31.242.
Out, though went Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas in P11 ahead of Haas’ Kevin Magnussen, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, Checo, in P19, and last placed Pierre Gasly in the second Alpine.
In the early exchanges of Q2 it was Norris who took top spot, with the McLaren driver posting a lap of 1:27.432 to sit a tenth clear of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz. Verstappen, meanwhile, was again suffering and after claiming fourth with a time of 1:27.799 he soon slid back to 10th as drivers stayed out and improved. It was a similar story after his second flyer and after initially rising to third he dropped to an eventual sixth as Norris took P1 ahead of Russell and Alonso.
However, while Verstappen avoided becoming the major casualty of Q2, Leclerc was unable to avoid that fate and battling porpoising in his Ferrari, the Monegasque driver was ruled out in P11 ahead of Williams’ Logan Sargeant, RB’s Yuki Tsunoda, Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu and the second RB of Daniel Ricciardo.
In the opening runs of Q3 Russell led the way by just 0.006s over Norris, as Hamilton and Piastri were both within touching distance in the battle for pole and with Verstappen down in fifth it was shaping up to be a duel between Mercedes and McLaren.
Neither Hamilton nor Russell improved on their first sectors, but both improved later in the lap and, first across the line, Hamilton jumped to top spot with 1:25.990s. Russell was finding more time, however, and when Norris made a mistake in Turn 14, Russell’s improved time of 1:25.819 was enough to clinch his third F1 pole.
Norris preserved his place in that top three, but couldn’t improve on his final run and ceded one position to Hamilton to lead the second row alongside Verstappen. Behind the Red Bull man, Piastri qualified fifth ahead of Hülkenberg, while Sainz took seventh ahead of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, Williams’ Alex Albon and the second Aston of Fernando Alonso.
2024 FIA Formula 1 British Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 George Russell Mercedes 1:25.819 – –
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:25.990 0.171
3 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:26.030 0.211
4 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:26.203 0.384
5 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:26.237 0.418
6 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 1:26.338 0.519
7 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:26.509 0.690
8 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:26.585 0.766
9 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:26.640 0.821
10 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:26.917 1.098
11 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:27.097 1.278
12 Logan Sargeant Williams/Mercedes 1:27.175 1.356
13 Yuki Tsunoda RB/Honda RBPT 1:27.269 1.450
14 Zhou Guanyu Sauber/Ferrari 1:27.867 2.048
15 Daniel Ricciardo RB/Honda RBPT 1:27.949 2.130
16 Valtteri Bottas Sauber/Ferrari 1:32.431 6.612
17 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1:32.905 7.086
18 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1:34.557 8.738
19 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:38.348 12.529
20 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1:39.804
